axis mundi

(noun)

A pivot point linking heaven, earth and the underworld. 

Related Terms

Examples of axis mundi in the following topics:

  • The Chavín Civilization

    • The Lanzón functions as axis mundi, or a pivot point linking the heavens, earth, and underworld.

  • Astronomy

    • Copernicus held that the Earth is another planet revolving around the fixed sun once a year, and turning on its axis once a day.
    • The laws states that: All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the Sun at one focus; A line that connects a planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times; The time required for a planet to orbit the Sun, called its period, is proportional to long axis of the ellipse raised to the 3/2 power.

  • The Golden Age of India

    • Aryabhata is also believed to be the first of the Indian mathematician-astronomers who postulated the theory that the Earth moves round the Sun and is not flat, but instead is round and rotates about its own axis.

  • Scientific Advancements in the Classical Period

    • Their younger contemporary Heraclides Ponticus proposed that the Earth rotates around its axis, and in the 3rd century BCE, Aristarchus of Samos was the first to suggest a heliocentric system.

  • Great Zimbabwe

    • Two bases emerged along a north-south axis.